Systems and methods for presenting comparative atheletic performance information

ABSTRACT

In at least one embodiment, a method for presenting route traversal information includes displaying a route map comprising a route path representing a route previously traversed by an athlete, receiving a plurality of parameter data points based on the athlete&#39;s previous traversal of the route, generating a visual cue based on at least one of the plurality of parameter data points, and displaying the visual cue on the route path.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

The present application is a continuation of U.S. patent applicationSer. No. 13/087,083, filed Apr. 14, 2011, which is a divisional of U.S.patent application Ser. No. 11/931,839, filed Oct. 31, 2007, now U.S.Pat. No. 7,953,549, which is a continuation of U.S. patent applicationSer. No. 11/169,863, filed Jun. 29, 2005, now U.S. Pat. No. 7,480,512.U.S. patent application Ser. No. 11/169,863 is a continuation-in-part ofU.S. patent application Ser. No. 10/759,289, filed Jan. 16, 2004, nowU.S. Pat. No. 7,292,867, and also claims priority to U.S. ProvisionalPatent App. No. 60/584,300, filed Jun. 30, 2004. U.S. patent applicationSer. No. 10/759,289 claims priority to U.S. Provisional Patent App. No.60/440,519, filed Jan. 16, 2003. These applications are incorporatedherein by reference in their entireties.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

The present invention relates to systems and methods for presentingcomparative athletic performance information.

2. Background Art

As Global Positioning System (GPS) technology has matured,location-aware electronics have been integrated into a number ofdifferent mobile platforms, such as automobiles, mobile telephones,two-way radios, and hand-held GPS receivers, in order to providelocation information. Location awareness supports the provision ofvarious location-based services.

Portable and/or wireless electronic devices have also been developed oradapted for use in various commercial, personal or leisure activities toassist people in performing the activity and/or to enhance the enjoymentand/or efficiency of the activity. Such electronic devices may or maynot be GPS-enabled.

BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

Embodiments of the present invention relate to a method for system forpresenting route traversal information including displaying a route mapcomprising a route path representing a route previously traversed by anathlete and receiving a plurality of parameter data points based on theathlete's previous traversal of the route and generating a visual cuebased on at least one of the plurality of parameter data points anddisplaying the visual cue on the route path.

Embodiments of the present invention also relate to a method forpresenting route traversal information including displaying a route mapand receiving a plurality of global positioning satellite waypointsbased on an athlete's current traversal of a route and displaying aroute path as an overlay on the route map of the route currently beingtraversed by the athlete and receiving at least one of route data,performance data, and environmental parameter data based on theathlete's current traversal of the route and determining one or morevisual cues based on at least one of the route data, the performancedata, the environmental parameter data, and the plurality of globalpositioning satellite waypoints and displaying the one or more visualcues on the route path.

Further embodiments, features, and advantages of the present invention,as well as the structure and operation of the various embodiments of thepresent invention, are described in detail below with reference to theaccompanying drawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS/FIGURES

The novel features believed characteristic of the invention are setforth in the appended claims. However, the invention, as well as apreferred mode of use, will best be understood by reference to thefollowing detailed description of an illustrative embodiment when readin conjunction with the accompanying drawings, wherein:

FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram of an exemplary environment in which thepresent invention may be practiced;

FIG. 2A is a block diagram of an illustrative portable fitness device inaccordance with the present invention;

FIG. 2B is a layer diagram of an exemplary software configuration of aportable fitness device in accordance with the present invention;

FIG. 3 is a layer diagram of an illustrative software configuration of aserver computer system in accordance with the present invention;

FIG. 4A depicts an exemplary graphical user interface of a route wizardthrough which a remote user may build a route, search for a route withina route database, and select routes within a predetermined trainingplan;

FIG. 4B illustrates an exemplary route wizard graphical user interfacethrough which a user may enter parameters and attributes of a new route;

FIG. 4C depicts an exemplary route wizard graphical user interfacethrough which a user may search a route database for an existing route;

FIG. 4D illustrates an exemplary route wizard graphical user interfacethat presents a navigable geographical map populated with graphicalindications of locations for which preexisting maps are stored withinthe route database;

FIG. 4E depicts an exemplary route wizard graphical user interfacewithin which a user may identify a selected route for detailed viewing;

FIG. 4F depicts an exemplary route wizard graphical user interface thatpresents a detailed description of a route and permits the user toupload the route to a portable fitness device;

FIG. 5A illustrates an exemplary graphical user interface of a trainingjournal through which a user may view routes traversed with a portablefitness device in accordance with the present invention;

FIG. 5B depicts an exemplary graphical user interface of a trainingjournal entry detailing a particular route traversed with a portablefitness device in accordance with the present invention;

FIG. 5C illustrates an exemplary graphical user interface of a trainingjournal entry showing a route view in which multiple route and/orperformance parameters are concurrently graphically presented in abanded format along a route path;

FIG. 6A is a high level logical flowchart of an exemplary method ofauthoring a training plan in accordance with the present invention;

FIG. 6B is a high level logical flowchart of an exemplary method ofinstalling a training plan into a training journal in accordance withthe present invention;

FIG. 6C is a high level logical flowchart of an exemplary method ofautomatically downloading one or more workouts within a training plan toa portable fitness device in accordance with the present invention;

FIG. 6D is a high level logical flowchart of an exemplary method bywhich a portable fitness device presents comparative performanceinformation in substantially real time in accordance with the presentinvention;

FIG. 7A depicts the over-reporting of distance traveled by unfilteredGPS waypoints when a GPS receiver is traveling at low velocity;

FIG. 7B is a high level logical flowchart of an exemplary method ofprocessing raw GPS readings in accordance with the present invention;

FIG. 8 is a high level logical flowchart of an exemplary method ofautomatically presenting comparative split information in accordancewith the present invention;

FIG. 9 is a high level logical flowchart of an exemplary playlistmanagement architecture in accordance with the present invention;

FIG. 10A is a high level logical flowchart of an exemplary method ofpre-processing an audio track to determine a corresponding pace inaccordance with the present invention;

FIG. 10B is a high level logical flowchart of an exemplary method ofconstructing a user playlist in accordance with the present invention;

FIG. 10C is a high level logical flowchart of a location-based method ofpresenting audio tracks as a route is traversed in accordance with thepresent invention;

FIG. 10D illustrates an exemplary user interface by which user audiopreferences may be entered in accordance with the present invention;

FIG. 10E is a high level logical flowchart of an exemplary method ofdynamic playlist management in accordance with the present invention;

FIG. 11A is a high level logical flowchart of an exemplary method ofpublishing a challenge route to a user community in accordance with thepresent invention;

FIG. 11B is a high level logical flowchart of an exemplary method ofstaging the traversal of a challenge route in accordance with thepresent invention;

FIG. 11C is a high level logical flowchart of an exemplary method ofpresenting the results of a traversal of a challenge route in accordancewith the present invention;

FIG. 12A is a high level block diagram of a system architecture thatprovides nutritional guidance to a user in accordance with the presentinvention;

FIG. 12B is a high level logical flowchart of an exemplary method bywhich a client device queries a service for nutritional guidance inaccordance with the present invention; and

FIG. 12C is a high level logical flowchart of an exemplary method bywhich a server device responds to a query for nutritional guidance inaccordance with the present invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

With reference now to the figures, and in particular with reference toFIG. 1, there is depicted an exemplary embodiment of an environment inwhich the methods, systems, and program products of the presentinvention may advantageously be practiced. In particular, FIG. 1illustrates an environment 10 in which a location-aware portable fitnessdevice 12 is utilized by an athlete 14 while engaged in a fitnessactivity, such as running, cycling, hiking, climbing, skiing, etc.

As shown, environment 10 includes a constellation of earth-orbitingglobal positioning system (GPS) satellites 20. As is known in the art,GPS satellites 20 continuously emit GPS signals 22, which enableGPS-equipped devices, such as portable fitness device 12, tocontinuously determine their position, velocity, bearing and elevationas long as a sufficient number of GPS satellites 20 can be acquired.

Environment 10 further includes a wireless wide-area network (WAN)communication system including a plurality of geographically distributedcommunication towers 30 and base station systems (BSS) 32 (only one ofeach is illustrated for simplicity). Communication tower 30 includes oneor more antennae 34 supporting long range two-way radio frequencycommunication wireless devices, such as portable fitness device 12. Theradio frequency communication between antennae 34 and portable fitnessdevice 12 may utilize radio frequency signals 36 conforming to any knownor future developed wireless protocol, for example, CDMA, GSM, EDGE, 3G,IEEE 802.x (e.g., IEEE 802.16 (WiMAX)), etc. The information transmittedover-the-air by BSS 32 and cellular communication tower 30 to portablefitness device 12 may be further transmitted to or received from one ormore additional circuit-switched or packet-switched communicationnetworks, including, for example, the Internet 40.

As is well known to those skilled in the art, Internet 40 is a worldwidecollection of servers, routers, switches and transmission lines thatemploy the Internet Protocol (IP) to communicate data. For example,Internet 40 may be employed to communicate data between any of servercomputer system 42, client computer system 44, and portable fitnessdevice 12. For example, as described further below, Internet 40 may beutilized to communicate to portable fitness device 12 route informationfrom a route database 52 stored within data storage 50 associated withserver computer system 42. Similarly, portable fitness device 12 maytransmit route and performance information to server computer system 42for storage in training journal database 54 via Internet 40, BSS 32, andcommunication tower 30. In addition, a user stationed at a remote clientcomputer system 44, for example, athlete 14, a remote trainer or otheruser, may access real-time or historical performance informationregarding the training of athlete 14 via server computer system 42 andInternet 40.

Referring now to FIG. 2A, there is illustrated a high-level blockdiagram of an exemplary implementation of portable training device 12 inaccordance with the present invention. As illustrated, portable trainingdevice 12 includes a central processing unit (CPU) 60 that controls theoperation of portable fitness device 12 in accordance with clientsoftware 154 described further below with respect to FIG. 2B. As shown,CPU 60 is coupled, either directly or indirectly, to a variety ofdifferent components within portable fitness device 12. For example,portable fitness device 12 includes an internal memory device 62 forstoring the client software, as well as various route, performance andenvironmental information regarding a training activity of athlete 14.The storage provided by internal memory device 62 may be furtheraugmented by a removable storage medium inserted within removable memoryslot 64 and/or dedicated audio storage 66 for storing audio data. Theaudio data may include, for example, music tracks encoded in MP3 format,synthesized human speech tracks, voice annotations by athlete 14recorded via an internal or external microphone 68, as well as otheraudio data.

In addition to microphone 68, portable fitness device 12 may include anumber of other input/output (I/O) devices. For example, portablefitness device 12 may include one or more manually manipulable inputbuttons 80 that permit athlete 14 to start and stop recording of GPSdata, annotate a route while athlete 14 is traversing the route, and/orto enter desired settings of portable fitness device 12. Portablefitness device 12 may also include a speaker 82 and display 84 throughwhich portable fitness device 12 may present real-time performanceinformation (e.g., elapsed distance, elapsed time, pace, distance to go,heart rate, etc.), turn-by-turn directions, real-time remote trainingrecommendations, maps, and other information in audio and/or visualformat.

Portable fitness device 12 is equipped with a power supply 90 thatpowers CPU 60 and the other components of portable fitness device 12.Power supply 90 includes a battery and may further have an associatedpower port 92 through which the battery may be charged from an AC powersource. Alternatively, the battery within power supply 90 may be chargedutilizing a wireless inductive charging device, as is known in the art.

Portable fitness device 12 further includes a GPS receiver 100 andassociated GPS antenna 102 that receive GPS signals 22 from GPSsatellites 20. GPS receiver 100 processes GPS signals 22 to present toCPU 60 time-stamped waypoints, which include at least a time, alatitude, and a longitude. If at least four GPS satellites 20 have beenacquired, the time-stamped waypoints presented to CPU 60 by GPS receiver100 preferably further include an elevation. As discussed further below,the time and position information supplied by GPS receiver 100 isutilized by client software 154 running on CPU 60 to build a record of aroute traversed by athlete 14 and to determine performance information(e.g., elapsed distance, elapsed time, pace, distance to go, heart rate,etc.) regarding the athlete's traversal of the route.

Portable training device 12 supports two-way wireless WAN communicationwith communication tower 30 with WAN transceiver 104 and its associatedantenna 106. As known to those skilled in the art, WAN transceiver 104includes a receiver for receiving radio frequency signals 36 and atransmitter for transmitting radio frequency signals 36. As discussed ingreater detail below, radio frequency signals 36 may include routeinformation transmitted to portable fitness device 12, route andperformance information transmitted from portable fitness device 12,settings for portable fitness device 12, and one or two-way voicecommunication (e.g., a voice conversation between athlete 14 and aremote trainer stationed at remote client computer 44). The data sentand received by WAN transceiver 104 may alternatively be communicatedvia an optional data port 108, which may employ short range wired orwireless communication (e.g., RS-232 or infrared).

In order to support communication with other electronics within closerange, portable fitness device 12 may be further equipped with one ormore local wireless interface(s) 110 and associated antennae 112. Forexample, local wireless interface(s) may include interfaces for 802.11x,Bluetooth, 900 mHz communication or the like. Utilizing suchtechnologies, portable fitness device 12 may communicate with or sensedata from a heart rate monitor 120, headphones 122, shoes 124, and awatch 126 worn by athlete 14 during a fitness activity. In this manner,portable fitness device 12 may gather information regarding athlete 14,such as his/her heart rate and body temperature, and if the athlete'sshoes 124 are equipped with an RFID tag, the shoes 124 worn during thefitness activity. Portable fitness device 12 may similarly present tothe user performance, directional and training information via watch 126and headphones 122.

Of course, in alternative embodiments, portable fitness device 12 maysense or communicate with particular devices utilizing wired or wirelessinterfaces. For example, microphone 68 may alternatively be incorporatedwithin wireless headphones 122, and heart rate monitor 120 mayalternatively be coupled to CPU 60 via a wired interface. Thus, thoseskilled in the art will appreciate from the block diagram provided inFIG. 2A, that any number of internal or external devices and sensors,such as temperature and barometric pressure sensor 130, may be coupledto CPU 60 via either wired or wireless interfaces. In this manner,client software running on CPU 60 may associate with the time andposition information provided by GPS receiver 100 various data ofinterest regarding athlete 14, his/her environment and the route beingtraversed. The data may be stored locally by portable fitness device 12,for example, within internal memory device 62, or transmittedover-the-air by WAN transceiver 104, possibly in real time.

It will further be appreciated that portable fitness device 12 may beimplemented as a special purpose device or may alternatively be realizedon a conventional portable device platform, such as a mobile telephone,MP3 player, digital camera, PDA, etc.

With reference now to FIG. 2B, there is illustrated a layer diagram ofan exemplary software configuration of portable fitness device 12 inaccordance with one embodiment of the present invention. As illustrated,the software configuration of portable fitness device 12 includes at alowest level an operating system (OS) 150 that provides a collection ofservices, such as thread scheduling, memory management, interrupts,etc., that may be accessed by higher-level software. Running on top ofoperating system 150 is a runtime environment 152, such as one of theJAVA or BREW runtime environments. Finally, the software configurationof portable fitness device 12 includes a portable fitness device client154 running on top of runtime environment 152. Portable fitness deviceclient 154 may be downloaded to portable fitness device 12 over-the-air,for example, via the wireless WAN and WAN transceiver 104.

As illustrated, portable fitness device client 154 comprises a number ofindividual modules, each performing a function of portable fitnessdevice 12. Those skilled in the art will appreciate that the illustratedmodules are illustrative rather than exhaustive, and that portablefitness device client 154 may include additional or alternative modulesto support or extend the functionality of portable fitness device 12.

As shown in FIG. 2B, the modules within portable fitness device client154 preferably include a number of reader modules 160-166. GPS reader160 receives from GPS receiver 100 time-stamped waypoints including atleast time, latitude and longitude information, and, depending uponimplementation and the number of GPS satellites 20 from which GPSsignals 22 were received, elevation and error information. Utilizing thetime-stamped waypoints received from GPS receiver 100, GPS reader 160calculates performance and route information for athlete 14. Forexample, GPS reader 160 may determine the start and stop times at whicha route was begun and ended, an elapsed time, an elapsed distance,distance remaining in the route, elevation change, average elevation,current pace, average pace, bearing, etc.

The remainder of readers 160-166, for example, heart rate reader 162 andannotation reader 164, similarly obtain input data and associate theinput data with a corresponding time-stamped waypoint obtained by GPSreader 160. Readers 162-166 may also perform additional calculations todetermine instantaneous, differential or cumulative quantitativecharacterizations of the route, the performance of athlete 14 or ofhis/her environment. Thus, for example, heart rate reader 162 may obtainan instantaneous heart rate reading from heart rate monitor 120,associate that heart rate reading with the time-stamped waypointobtained by GPS reader 160, and calculate an average heart rate.Similarly, annotation reader 164 may store a route annotation entered byathlete 14 via input buttons 80 or microphone 18 with a time-stampedwaypoint obtained by GPS reader 160.

The data gathered and calculated by readers 160-166 are then parsed andformatted by formatter 170 into a predetermined data format thatassociates the performance and route data with a timestamp andgeographical location. The particular data format employed by dataformatter 170 is implementation-dependent, but is preferably compact toconserve the capacity of internal memory device 62 and the bandwidth ofthe communication link between portable training device 12 and thewireless WAN. Storage capacity and wireless communication bandwidth mayfurther be conserved by applying a data compressor 172 to the formatteddata produced by data formatter 170.

After data obtained and calculated by readers 160-166 have beenformatted by data formatter 170 and optionally compressed by datacompressor 172, the data are either stored within internal memory device62 (or audio storage 66 or a removal memory loaded in removable memoryslot 64) or are transmitted over-the-air via WAN transceiver 104. Uploadmanager 174 and route and performance recorder 176 determine whether ornot to upload and/or store data locally based upon one or more criteria,for example, whether WAN transceiver 104 can acquire a connection to thewireless WAN, the available storage within internal memory device 62, anindication of whether or not a remote user is tracking the training ofathlete 14 in real-time, and/or other criteria. If, based upon theseand/or other criteria, upload manager 174 decides to upload theformatted and compressed data, upload manager 174 outputs the data viaWAN transceiver 104 and antenna 106 to client computer system 44 and/orserver computer system 42 utilizing radio frequency signals 36. Datatransmitted to client computer system 44 is typically graphicallypresented within a display device, and data transmitted to servercomputer system 42 is typically stored within training journal database54.

As noted above, portable training device 12 may alternatively receivedata over-the-air from the wireless WAN. In a preferred embodiment, thedata received over-the-air from the wireless WAN may include routeinformation transmitted by server computer system 42 from route database52, settings of portable fitness device 12 transmitted by servercomputer system 42 or client computer system 44, and trainingrecommendations transmitted from server computer system 42 or clientcomputer system 44. Route information, which may be identified as such,for example, by an XML header, is received, processed and stored byroute storage manager 182. The route information may be, for example,turn-by-turn directions keyed to particular geographical areas definedby a latitude and longitude range duple. By storing route information inthis format, when GPS reader 160 obtains a time-stamped waypoint fallingwithin a particular geographic area defined by a latitude and longituderange duple, audio presentation module 192 can present an audibleinstruction to athlete 14 via speaker 82 and/or headphones 122 to directathlete 14 how to traverse a desired route.

Settings data, which may be identified as such, for example, by an XMLheader, is initially received, processed, and output by datadecompressor 180 is then subsequently processed by settings manager 184.For example, settings manager 184 may utilize settings data to updatestorage locations within internal memory device 62 governing particularaspects of the operation of portable training device 12. In addition,based upon the received settings, settings manager 184 may notify uploadmanager 174 or route and performance recorder 176 to initiate upload orstorage of route and performance information.

Training recommendations received, processed and output by datadecompressor 180 are subsequently processed by training input manager186. These training recommendations preferably take the form of eithervoice data communicated by a human trainer utilizing, for example, avoice-over-IP (VoIP) connection to portable training device 12, or apredetermined data command representing an audio message. In the formercase, training input manager 186 exports the audio data directly toaudio presentation module 192, which, in turn, directly presents theaudio data to athlete 14 via headphones 122 and/or speaker 82. If,however, the training recommendation takes the form of a data commandrepresenting an audio message, training input manager 186 locates anaudio track within audio storage 66 or internal memory device 62corresponding to the data command and presents the audio track to audiopresentation module 192 for subsequent presentation to athlete 14. Inthis manner, a remote human trainer (who may be stationed at clientcomputer system 44) or an automated training plan service may providetraining recommendations directly to athlete 14 in substantiallyreal-time. And, if portable training device 12 is equipped with amicrophone 68, athlete 14 may similarly communicate audibly with theremote trainer (e.g., via VoIP) through the execution of annotationreader 164 data formatter 170, data compressor 172 and upload manager174.

Audio presentation module 192 is also preferably equipped to present, inaudio format, turn-by-turn directions correcting the course of anathlete 14 to return to a route if a turn is missed, as well asturn-by-turn directions providing the most direct return path to thestarting point. Such turn-by-turn directions are preferably computed byserver computer system 42 based upon real time location informationreceived over-the-air from portable fitness device 12 and thentransmitted to portable fitness device 12, again utilizing over-the-aircommunication via the wireless WAN. Audio presentation module 192 mayalso be utilized to decode and present audio entertainment tracks, suchas the MP3 files stored within audio storage 66.

As further depicted in FIG. 2B, portable fitness device client 154includes a visual presentation module 190 that manages the presentationof route, performance and environmental information to athlete 14 viaoptional display 84 and/or the display of watch 126. It should be noted,however, that it is presently preferred to present data of all types toathlete 14 during the course of a fitness activity in audio format sothat the concentration and attention of athlete 14 is not diverted fromtraining efforts.

Finally, route publication manager 194 of portable fitness device client154 supports the sharing of routes between multiple portable fitnessdevices 12, for example, utilizing the local wireless interface 110, WANtransceiver 104, or data port 108. In this manner, an athlete 14 candirectly share selected routes (e.g., as identified utilizing inputbuttons 80) to other athletes having compatible portable fitness devices12.

Referring now to FIG. 3, there is depicted a layer diagram of anexemplary software configuration of server computer system 42 of FIG. 1that, in accordance with the present invention, provides an automatedweb-based route generation, route journaling, route visualization andother services. The services may be offered to a plurality of athletes14 or other users forming a user community, may be restricted to usersthat have been issued login IDs and passwords for accessing server 42,and may further be offered in exchange for a subscription fee.

As shown, at the lowest layer the software configuration of servercomputer system 42 includes an operating system (OS) 210, which ispreferably one of the commercially available operating systems, such asWindows, UNIX, LINUX, AIX, etc. OS 210 has an associated applicationprogramming interface (API) 212 though which middleware and applicationprograms may access the services of OS 210.

Running on top of OS 210 is a hypertext transport protocol (HTTP) server214, which, as is well known in the art, communicates data over Internet40 utilizing HTTP. In particular, HTTP server 214 supports datacommunication with portable fitness device 12 and one or more remoteclient computers 44 utilizing HTTP. Communication with server computersystem 42 may alternatively or additionally be conducted utilizing asockets layer interface or other lower layer protocol running over IP.

In addition to HTTP server 214, the application software of servercomputer system 42 includes a number of different modules supporting theclient-side functionality provided by portable fitness device client154. In the depicted embodiment, these modules include a routegeneration and publication module 220, a data recorder module 226, and avisualization module 230. Those skilled in the art will again appreciatethat alternative or additional modules may be implemented within servercomputer system 42 in order to provide or extend the described oradditional functionality.

Route generation and publication module 220 generates routes to betraversed by athletes 14 during fitness activities, stores the routeswithin route database 52 (FIG. 1) for subsequent access, and downloadsthe routes to portable fitness devices 12. In a preferred embodiment,route generation and publication module 220 includes a route wizard 222,which, as described below with respect to FIG. 4A-4F, guides a userthrough a step-by-step process for generating routes having desiredparameters and attributes. As shown in FIG. 3, route generation andpublication module 220 preferably accesses a local or remote mapdatabase 224 that stores street and/or trail information in associationwith at least latitude and longitude information, and preferablyelevation information. Thus, given at least one terminal point (e.g., astarting point), route generation and publication module 220 is able toconstruct one or more routes having a desired length, elevation profile,and other parameters and attributes. Routes generated by routegeneration and publication module 220 are stored for subsequent accesswithin route database 52.

Once a particular route is scheduled by an athlete 14 as discussedfurther below, route generation and publication module 220 transformsthe route into a sequence of turn-by-turn instructions and publishes theroute to a portable fitness device 12 via HTTP server 214 and thewireless WAN. Because route generation and publication module 220 canobtain elevation information along a desired route directly from mapdatabase 224, route generation and publication module 220 is also ableto advantageously supply, in conjunction with a route, elevationinformation for the route. In this manner, the elevation informationsupplied by route generation and publication module 220 can assist orreplace the elevation information provided by GPS receiver 100. Thus, ifless than four GPS satellites 20 are acquired, or if GPS receiver 100 isnot designed to process elevation information, portable fitness device12 can still determine elevation-dependent route and performance dataregarding a route traversed by athlete 14.

Data recorder module 226 receives route and performance information fromportable training device 12 via the wireless WAN and/or local wirelessinterface 110 and/or data port 108 and utilizes such data to build avirtual training journal for athlete 14 within training journal database54. As noted previously, depending upon the operation of the uploadmanager 174 and route and performance recorder 176 within portablefitness device client 154, data recorder module 226 can build a journalentry describing the traversal of a particular route in substantiallyreal time (i.e., during traversal of the route). Data recorder module226 also preferably supports an interface through which a route recordedby data recorder module 226 can be exported to route database 52 forsubsequent viewing, selection and scheduling within a user's trainingjournal.

The exemplary software configuration of server computer system 42finally includes visualization module 230. Visualization module 230supports one or more interfaces through which users of remote clientcomputer systems 44 can view and/or annotate the data recorded withintraining journal database 54 by data recorder module 226. In thedepicted embodiment, visualization module 230 includes training journalinterface 232, which, as described in detail below, permits an athlete14 to view and/or annotate a journal entry describing a route traversedduring a fitness activity after completion of the route traversal. In apreferred embodiment, visualization module 230 further includes areal-time interface 234 through which a user at a remote client computersystem 44 may view, in substantially real time, data logged withintraining journal database 54 for one or more athletes. Thus, forexample, a spectator having access to Internet 40 can view the real-timestandings of multiple competitors in a fitness activity, such as amarathon, cycling race, or other competitive event. Similarly, aremotely located trainer having access to Internet 40 via a clientcomputer 44 can view the progress of one or more athletes 14 engaged inone or more training activities in substantially real time.

Visualization module 230 also preferably includes support for the exportof selected journal entries between accounts of different users of theback-end service provided by server computer system 42. For example,visualization module 230 preferably permits a user to transmit a journalentry representing a traversal of a route via email. In addition,visualization module 230 may permit a user to create a “buddy” accountthat may be accessed and even annotated by guest users. In this manner,if the services provided by server computer system 42 are provided for asubscription fee, marketing of the service is enhanced by the ability ofnon-subscribers or subscriber having reduced-cost subscriptions to viewjournal entries created by exercise partners.

Referring now to FIGS. 4A-4F, there are illustrated a sequence ofgraphical user interface (GUI) windows presented by route wizard 222 toa user of client computer system 44 by HTTP server 214. As noted above,route wizard 222 provides a graphical and intuitive interface throughwhich a remote user can automatically build, search for, and/or scheduleroutes to be traversed during a fitness activity.

In order to access route wizard 222, a user stationed at a remote clientcomputer system 44 first logs into server computer system 42 viaInternet 40 and HTTP server 214. As is well known to those skilled inthe art, the login process typically includes the entry by the remoteuser of a login ID and password or other authentication information toserver computer system 42, which then authenticates the identity of theuser by reference to the user database or the like.

Following the preliminary authentication process, an exemplaryembodiment of route wizard 222 first presents a graphical user interface(GUI) window 250 to the user. Within GUI window 250, the user isprompted to select one of three options 252, 254 and 256, which are eachassociated with a respective one of radio buttons 258 a-258 c. Thus, theuser is permitted to build a new route (option 252), search for anexisting route within route database 52 (option 254), and access one ormore routes within a pre-packaged training plan (option 256). After theuser has indicated a preference among options 252-256 by selecting oneof radio buttons 258 a-c utilizing cursor 262 or a keyboard, the userselects Next button 260 to proceed to the next step.

If the user selected option 256 indicating that the user desires toselect a pre-packaged training plan, route wizard 222 may subsequentlypresent the user with one or more additional windows in which a trainingplan meeting the user's needs and desires is designed. Route wizard 222then automatically populates the training journal of the user with aschedule of fitness activities that conform to the distance, time, goalevent (e.g., marathon) and/or other parameters of the training plan.Thereafter, the user may be permitted to build or search for routeswithin route database 52 as described below with respect to FIGS. 4B-4Fin order to fulfill the requirements of the scheduled fitnessactivities.

Assuming that the user selects option 252 of GUI window 250 in order tobuild a new route, route wizard 222 next presents to the user the GUIwindow 270 shown in FIG. 4B. As shown in FIG. 4B, window 270 includes anumber of GUI components prompting the user to enter parameters for thenew route to be built and, optionally, desired attributes of the route.

Specifically, the user is first prompted in section 272 to designate astarting point of the route (which in this embodiment is also the endingpoint) by entering a street address or ZIP code or by selecting a routewithin route database 52 having the desired starting point. Next, theuser is prompted in section 274 to enter a desired overall length of theroute, specified either by distance or by time. If time is utilized tospecify the length of the route, a desired or historical average pace ispreferably entered so that a route distance can be computed. In additionto the route parameters collected in sections 272 and 274, GUI window270 may also prompt the user to enter optional route attributes. In theillustrated embodiment, the optional route attributes include a maximumdistance that the route may extend from the starting point, a desiredelevation profile of the route, a desired pattern of the route, adesired safety characterization of the route, a desired flow of theroute, and whether or not the route may be a pre-existing route storedwithin route database 52.

Once the user has entered all required parameter and any optional routeattributes within GUI window 270, the user selects Next button 280utilizing cursor 262. In response, route generation and publicationmodule 220 builds one or more routes conforming as closely as possibleto the route parameters and route attributes entered through GUI window270. The presentation of such routes by route wizard 222 is describedbelow with respect to FIG. 4E.

Referring now to FIG. 4C, there is illustrated an exemplary embodimentof a GUI window 300 presented by route wizard 222 to a user of clientcomputer system 44 is response to selection of option 254 in GUI window250 of FIG. 4A. That is, in response to a user input indicating that theuser desires to search for a pre-existing route within route database52, route wizard 222 prompts the user through GUI window 300 to enterparameters and attributes of routes of interest to the user.

In the depicted embodiment, GUI window 300 includes two modalities bywhich the user may specify parameters for the route. In particular, insection 302, the user is permitted to specify a location of the route byZIP code or city name. Alternatively, as represented by button 304, theuser may specify a geographic location of the route or routes to belocated by the search through a map interface. For example, if the userselects button 304 utilizing cursor 262, route wizard 222 may presentwindow 320 of FIG. 4D, which is described below.

Still referring to FIG. 4C, in section 306 of GUI window 300, the useris permitted to input into route wizard 222 desired attributes of theroute to be located through the search of route database 52. Forexample, in the illustrated embodiment, the route attributes include arange of route distance, an elevation profile, a route pattern, a routesafety profile, a route flow, and amenities adjacent to the route. Afterthe user has successfully entered a route location and any desired routeattributes, the user may select Next button 308 utilizing cursor 262 toinvoke a search of route database 52 by route generation and publicationmodule 220 to locate one or more routes, if any, characterized by thedesired route location and any route attributes. Assuming routegeneration and publication module 220 locates one or more routes ofinterest within route database 52, route wizard 222 presents the routesto the user through an interface such as that depicted in FIG. 4E, whichis described below.

Referring now to FIG. 4D, there is illustrated an exemplary GUI window320 in which route wizard 222 presents a navigable geographical mappopulated with graphical indications of locations for which preexistingroutes are stored within the route database 52. In the depictedembodiment, GUI window 320 includes a graphical representation 322 of ageographical area, for example, a political, cultural, or regionalboundary. Within geographical representation 322, route wizard 22presents a number of indicia 324 a-h identifying geographic locations ofone or more pre-existing routes for which route database 52 stores routedata.

In response to the user flying over one of indicia 324 utilizing cursor262, route wizard 222 displays in a separate window or frame 330 routemaps 332-336 of the routes in the geographic location corresponding tothe selected indicia 324. Graphical representations 332-336 may beadvantageously presented overlaying a street or topographical map withinwindow 330. If the user visually identifies one or more routes ofinterest at a particular geographical location through visual inspectionof indicia 324 and/or the route maps 332-336 displayed within windows330, the user may select that geographical location by clicking on theassociated indicia 324. In this manner, GUI window 320 and itsassociated functionality provide the user with a graphical and intuitiveway of viewing and selecting route locations of interest.

With reference now to FIG. 4E, there is illustrated an exemplary GUIwindow 350 presented by route wizard 22 in order to permit a user toselect from among one or more pre-existing routes that were locatedwithin route database 52 or that were built by route generation andpublication module 220 in response to the input gathered by route wizard222 within GUI window 270. As shown, in the depicted embodiment proposedroutes that may be selected by the user are presented to the user in theform of route summaries 352 a-c. Although such route summaries 352 maytake any of a number of formats, in one preferred embodiment, each routesummary 352 includes at least a route thumbnail 354 and a route distance356. The route summary 352 may further include an elevation profile 358,which in the depicted embodiment is illustrated in graphical form, aroute rating 360, and one or more audio or textual reviews or linksthereto 362.

The user has a number of different navigation options from GUI window350. First, by clicking on any of route thumbnails 354, the user is nextpresented with a graphical component through which the user may selector view detailed information regarding the selected route, as describedfurther below with respect to FIG. 4F. Alternatively, the user mayutilize cursor 262 to select Next button 370 in order to view one ormore additional route summaries 352 of additional routes satisfying theuser's route parameters and/or route attributes. In addition, byselecting Back button 372 utilizing cursor 262, the user is presentedwith one or more of the previously described GUI windows in order topermit the user to modify the route location or other route parametersor attributes.

With reference now to FIG. 4F, there is illustrated an GUI window 380presented by route wizard 222 to provide a detailed view of a proposedroute and an interface through which the user can upload route data toportable training device 12 and schedule traversal of the route. In theillustrative embodiment, window 380 includes a detailed route map 382indicating the geographical path of the route. Route map 382 includesterminal points 384 a, 384 b and a route path 386. Route map 382 mayoptionally further include one or more annotations 388 associated with aroute, which maybe stored in route database 52 or accessed from mapdatabase 224. For example, in FIG. 4F, route diagram 382 contains anannotation 388 indicating a geographical location of a potable watersource.

By clicking on route path 386 utilizing cursor 262, the user invokesdisplay by route wizard 222 of a marker 390 a, which may then beselectively slid to any desired location along route path 386 utilizingcursor 262. Route wizard 222 preferably displays marker locationinformation 392 in association with marker 390 a to indicate thegeographic location of marker 390 (e.g., the distance between marker 390a and terminal 384 a along route path 386). In addition, route wizard322 preferably displays a corresponding second marker 390 b inassociation with elevation profile 384. In this manner, by manipulatingeither of markers 390 a or 390 b utilizing cursor 262, the user canvisualize the location of particular elevation features or annotations388.

As further shown in FIG. 4F, window 380 further includes a rating of theroute, which in this case includes between one and four “stars” and anindication of a number of reviews. In addition, window 380 mayoptionally include a number of written reviews, for example, displayedwithin text box 402. The user may navigate to a next review of the routeby selecting link 404.

GUI window 380 of FIG. 4F finally includes an interface through whichthe user may invoke the upload of route information pertaining to theroute currently being viewed to portable training device 12. In thedepicted embodiment, the user can invoke upload of the route informationto portable training device 12 by scheduling the route utilizingcalendar interface 406. For example, in order to upload routeinformation pertaining to the illustrated route to portable trainingdevice 12, the user may select a desired date such as Jan. 16, 2004, byclicking on that date within calendar interface 406 utilizing cursor262. In response to this input, route generation and publication module220 enters the route to the athlete's training journal in trainingjournal database 54 as a prospective event and uploads route informationto portable training device 12 via Internet 40 and the wireless WAN.Importantly, in order to conserve data storage capacity within portabletraining device 12, the upload by route generation and publicationmodule 220 is preferably deferred until a selectable time interval ofthe scheduled date. In this manner, route information is provided toportable training device 12 automatically and as needed.

Referring now to FIGS. 5A-C, there are illustrated a series of GUIwindows presented by training journal interface 232 of visualizationmodule 230 of server computer system 42 to permit a user to view,annotate and share training journal entries created utilizing datareceived over-the-air from portable fitness device 12. In order toaccess training journal interface 232, a user stationed at a remoteclient computer system 44 first logs into server computer system 42 viaInternet 40 and HTTP server 214. As is well known to those skilled inthe art, the login process typically includes the entry by the remoteuser of a login ID and password or other authentication information toserver computer system 42, which then authenticates the identity of theuser by reference to the user database or the like.

Following the preliminary authentication process, training journalinterface 232 of visualization module 230 presents GUI window 420 to theremote user via HTTP server 214 and Internet 40. As illustrated, GUIwindow 420 includes a calendar interface 424 through which the user canselect a past, current or future calendar month of interest utilizingcursor 262. An associated list box 422 presents for selection dateswithin the selected calendar month having journal entries withintraining journal database 54 for the specified login ID. Thus, bynavigating utilizing cursor 262, the user can select for viewing journalentries detailing past or real-time routes previously traversed orcurrently being traversed by an athlete 14, or prospective routesscheduled for the athlete 14.

Assuming that the user selects a past journal entry within trainingjournal database 54 from list box 422, training journal interface 232presents GUI window 440 of FIG. 5B, again utilizing HTTP serve 214. Asshown, the journal entry presented by training journal interface 232within GUI window 440 provides detailed information regarding a routepreviously traversed by athlete 14, the athlete's performance,environmental conditions, as well as the athlete's personal comments andannotations.

In particular, the training journal entry presented within GUI window440 includes a route map 442 having terminal points 444 a-b and a routepath 446 showing the geographical path traversed by the route. Asdiscussed above, route map 442 may advantageously be presented as anoverlay of a trail or street map retrieved from map database 224.

The overall performance of athlete 14, in traversing the route depictedin route map 442, is preferably summarized in a performance summarysection 476. As indicated, performance summary section 476 may indicatethe route distance, total elapsed time, average pace, average heart rateof athlete 14, as well as other route and performance information.Weather conditions at the time and geographical location at whichathlete 14 traversed the route may optionally be presented in a weathercondition section 478. For example, weather condition section 478 mayspecify the temperature, wind speed and direction, humidity, andprecipitation. The weather condition information presented withinweather condition section 478 may advantageously be accessed byvisualization module 230 from any of the multiple publicly accessibleweather databases available via Internet 40.

The user may interact with route map 442 in a number of ways. Forexample, the user may annotate route map 442 by dragging any of icons460 a-f to a selected location along route path 446 utilizing cursor262. For example, in the illustrated embodiment, the user is dragging anannotation 454 representing a potable water source onto route map 442.The user may alternatively drag callout box icon 462 onto route map 442in order to enter a textual annotation.

In addition, in response to clicking on route path 446 utilizing cursor262, training journal interface 232 displays one or more markers 450 a,452 a along route path 446, preferably in association with one or moreitems of route or performance information (e.g., a distance) for thegeographical location identified by the marker 450 a, 452 a. By addingmarkers 450 a, 452 a in this manner, the user can graphically andintuitively ascertain the geographical location of features of interestand performance and route information at selected locations along routepath 446. Training journal interface 232 may alternatively oradditionally present route and performance information for a selectedgeographical location in response to the user causing cursor 262 to “flyover” the corresponding location on route path 446.

In association with route map 442, training journal interface 232preferably presents other performance information, route information,and/or environmental information in graphical format. For example, inthe depicted embodiment, training journal interface 232 presents anelevation profile 472 a, a heart rate profile 472 b, and a pace profile472 c in association with route map 442. When the user adds markers 450a, 452 a to route path 446, training journal interface 232 automaticallypresents corresponding markers 450 b-d and 452 b-d at correspondinglocations along graphical profiles 472 a-c. As discussed above, all ofmarkers 450 and all of markers 452 are synchronized so that movement ofany of markers 450 moves all of markers 450 and movement of any ofmarkers 452 moves all of markers 452. In this manner, the user is ableto graphically and intuitively define an interval over whichperformance, route and/or environmental information may be viewed. Forexample, in the depicted embodiment, interval information is depicted ininterval section 474, which informs the user of the interval distance,time taken by the athlete to traverse the route interval, average paceover the route interval and average heart rate over the route interval.

Of course, the particular types of route, performance and environmentalinformation shown in FIG. 5B are not exhaustive and other types ofroute, performance, and environmental information may be captured inassociation with the traversal of a route. If additional route,performance or environmental information is captured in association withthe route, that information is preferably presented in a profile 472,within interval section 474, and/or within overall performance section476 in like manner. For example, GUI window 440 may present informationregarding what pair of shoes 24 the athlete was wearing during thefitness activity, together with a lifetime mileage total for thatspecific pair of shoes 24.

In a preferred embodiment of the present invention, the user mayalternatively or additionally view route, performance and environmentalinformation regarding a previously traversed route in an overlay view inwhich a graphical representation of the route, performance and/orenvironmental information is depicted along route path 446. For example,in the illustrated embodiment, in response to user selection of overlayview button 480 utilizing cursor 262, training journal interface 232presents route map 500 of FIG. 5C in place of route map 442 of FIG. 5B.

Like route map 442, route map 500 includes terminal points 502 a and 502b defining the starting and ending points of a route path 504. Incontrast to route map 442, however, route path 504 of route map 500comprises a plurality of bands 504 a-c, each of which represents arespective route, performance or environmental parameter quantified atthe waypoints recorded along the route. The value of the respectiveroute, performance or environmental parameter is preferably chartedalong route path 504 utilizing gray scale or color shade variation torepresent the instantaneous quantity of the route, performance orenvironmental parameter at each point along the route. Thus, in FIG. 5C,the different hatching applied to each of bands 504 a-504 c represents adifferent color and a varying spacing between the hatches represents thedisplay of the colors at varying levels of intensity along the routepath, depending upon the value of the parameters at each point along thepath. The value associated with each shade of color or each level ofgray scale is generally graphically represented in an accompanyinglegend 506. Training journal interface 232 preferably further presentsinstantaneous route and performance data at any point along the routepath in response to a flyover of cursor 262 or in response to the useradding markers 508, 510 to the route path, as described above. Forexample, in association with the display of marker 508, training journalinterface 232 displays information regarding the traversed distance,relative elevation, heart rate and pace associated with a distance 1.4miles from the beginning of the route.

Returning to FIG. 5B, in addition to supporting user annotation of routemaps 442 and 500, GUI window 440 preferably permits the user to enteradditional information regarding environmental and route conditions andpersonal thoughts. For example, GUI window 440 includes a routecondition section 482 that permits the user to record the surface andtraffic conditions observed along the route, as well as a text box 484in which the user may enter personal reflections about the trainingactivity.

Finally, GUI window 440 preferably includes a GUI component that permitsthe user to review and/or rate the route. For example, in the exemplaryembodiment, GUI window 440 contains a second text box 492 in which theuser can compose a review of the route and a ratings section 494 inwhich the user can award the route between one and four “stars”. Afterthe route has been reviewed and/or rated, the user can select Publishbutton 496, which causes training journal interface 232 to store thereview and rating within route database 52 in association with theroute. In this manner, the review and rating are available for access byother users through route wizard 222, as described above.

Training journal interface 232 preferably permits a user to viewprospective routes that have been scheduled utilizing a similarinterface to that illustrated in FIG. 5B. In particular, in response toa user selecting a journal entry for a future date within list box 422of FIG. 5A, training journal interface 232 presents a journal entrycontaining a route map 442 of the prospective training activity as shownin FIG. 5B. Of course, the journal entry will not contain anyperformance information (e.g., time, pace, heart rate, etc.) because theathlete 14 has not yet traversed the route.

Training journal interface 232 also preferably permits a user to viewroutes currently being traversed in substantially real time through aninterface similar to that depicted in FIG. 5B. In this case, trainingjournal interface 232 presents a journal entry containing a route map442 and a marker 450 a showing the athlete's current location withrespect to route path 446. In addition, training journal interface 232may present a summary section 476 summarizing the athlete's performanceto the current position, a weather condition section 478, an intervalsection 474, and one or more graphical profiles 472. In this manner, aremote trainer or spectator stationed at a client computer system 44 maytrack an athlete's performance information, route information andenvironmental information in substantially real time.

If a user stationed at a client computer system 44 desires to view asubstantially real time view of the activities of multiple athletestraversing a common route, the user preferably logs into real-timeinterface 234 through HTTP server 214. Assuming the user has theappropriate subscription and/or permissions, real-time interface 234builds from the training journals of multiple athletes a web pagecontaining a single route map on which multiple markers, eachrepresenting a respective athlete, are presented. The web page mayfurther present separate performance and route information for eachathlete. In this manner, a remote trainer or spectator stationed at aclient computer system 44 may track performance information, routeinformation and environmental information in substantially real time formultiple athletes traversing the same or substantially the same route.

With reference now to FIG. 6A, there is illustrated a high level logicalflowchart of an exemplary method of authoring a training plan inaccordance with the present invention. As illustrated, the processbegins at block 600 and then proceeds to block 602, which depicts a userstationed at a client computer 44 describing a fitness training plan foran activity, for example, through a browser interface served overInternet 40 by authoring tool 242 of training plan module 240 (FIG. 3)via web server 214. The training plan includes one or more workouts andpreferably includes at least a relative scheduling of the workouts. Thetraining plan may further include specific routes and specificperformance metrics, such as a target distance, target duration, targetrepetitions, target pace, target heart rate, target intervals or otherperformance goals for one or more of the workouts. The user may furtherassociate metadata such as keywords (e.g., author name, plan length,fitness event, etc.) with the training plan so that it may be moreeasily located utilizing a conventional search tool. As describedfurther below, the user may further enter information indicating apreferred adaptive behavior of the training planning in response toactually observed athletic performance of an athlete using the trainingplan.

After the training plan has been described, the user invokes storage ofthe training plan by authoring tool 242 within a training plan database56 in data storage 50 of FIG. 1. In response, authoring tool 242generates an XML-formatted document specifying the training plan, and asindicated at block 604, stores the training plan within training plandatabase 56. The metadata contained in the XML-formatted training planenables users to browse the contents of training plan database 56utilizing a conventional search tool, such as the keyword search tool ofa web browser. As further shown at block 606, the author of the trainingplan is preferably permitted by authoring tool 242 to subsequentlyaccess and modify training plans created by that author that residewithin training plan database 56. Following block 606, the process endsat block 608.

Referring now to FIG. 6B, there is depicted a high level logicalflowchart of an exemplary method of installing a training plan into auser's training journal in accordance with the present invention. Theprocess begins at block 620 and then proceeds to block 622, whichillustrates a user stationed at a client computer system 44 selecting atraining plan from training plan database 56 of server computer system42, for example, through a browser GUI served over Internet 40 bycalendaring tool 244 of training plan module 240 via HTTP server 214.The selection may be aided by a conventional browser search tool, menus,pick lists, calendars or other conventional user interface components.As described above, the presentation of the interface componentsutilized to select the training plan may be invoked by selection ofoption 256 within GUI window 250 of FIG. 4A. In response to userselection of the training plan, calendaring tool 244 installs theselected training plan within the user's personal training journalresiding within training journal database 54. As noted, at block 624,installation of the training plan within the user's personal journal mayoptionally require payment of a fee (e.g., authorization to charge acredit card number) and/or user agreement to abide by the terms of acopyright license in the training plan (e.g., as signified by selectionof an “I Agree” button within the GUI displayed at client computersystem 44).

When calendaring tool 244 of training plan module 240 installs thetraining plan within the user's training journal, calendaring tool 244preferably presents a calendar view similar to GUI window 420 of FIG. 5Aor other GUI component(s) to enable user input of preferred schedulingand other preferences for the training plan. The user preferences mayinclude, for example, desired starting and/or ending dates for the plan,preferred workout and/or rest days, the date of a race or other event towhich the training plan pertains, audible alerts the user desires toreceived during a workout, etc. In response to the user schedulinginput(s) and any other preferences, calendaring tool 244 automaticallypopulates the calendar in the user's training journal with the workoutswithin the selected training plan based upon the user's inputs and/orthe relative scheduling of the workouts in the training plan. After thetraining plan has been installed within the user's training journal, theuser is preferably permitted to further modify or customize the trainingplan, as depicted at block 628. In addition, training plan module 240may automatically customize a training plan in an athlete's personaltraining journal in response to the athlete's activities recorded in thepersonal training journal if the adaptive behavior is specified by thetraining plan. For example, training plan module 240 may automaticallyremove prospective workouts from the training plan in response to theathlete 14 exceeding a weekly mileage target in order to preventpre-event injury or may automatically add additional workouts (e.g., tothe end of the training plan) if the personal training journal ofathlete 14 indicates a failure to meet mileage goals. Alternatively oradditionally, training plan module 240 may automatically decrease atarget pace for one or more prospective workouts if the athlete 14 hashad a lower than target pace over one or more previous workouts. Thoseskilled in the art that any number of other modifications to distance,pace and scheduling may similarly be automatically implemented inresponse to actual measured athletic performance. Following block 628,the process terminates at block 630.

With reference now to FIG. 6C, there is illustrated a high level logicalflowchart of an exemplary method of automatically downloading one ormore workouts within a training plan to a portable fitness device 12 inaccordance with the present invention. As shown, the process begins atblock 640 and then proceeds to block 642, which depicts a downloadmanager 246 of training plan module 240 monitoring a user's personaltraining journal to determine if any workout of a training planinstalled within the user's training journal falls within a nextdownload time interval (e.g., within the upcoming week). If not,download manager 246 continues to monitor the user's training journal.

However, if download manager 246 determines at block 642 that at leastone workout of a training plan falls within the next download timeinterval, download manager 246 attempts to establish communication withthe user's portable fitness device 12 via Internet 40 and the wirelessWAN, as depicted at block 644. If download manager 236 determines atblock 644 that communication cannot be established, for example, becauseportable fitness device 12 is turned off or is out of range of thewireless WAN, download manager 246 waits a predetermined interval, asshown at block 645. The process then returns to block 642, which hasbeen described.

Returning to block 644, if download manager 246 determines that theportable fitness device 12 is available to receive a download, theprocess proceeds to block 646. Block 646 depicts download manager 246automatically downloading the workouts within the next download timeinterval to the portable fitness device 12 using an XML schema. As notedin block 646, the workout(s) preferably include at least one performancemetric that may form the basis of a substantially real time alert duringthe associated workout. Following block 646, the process ends at block648. Thus, workouts may be downloaded to portable fitness device 12 onan as-needed basis rather than all at once, which reduces utilization ofstorage in portable fitness device 12. Of course, in other embodiments,the download interval can be longer than the training plan, and allworkouts within the training plan can be downloaded at once.

Referring now to FIG. 6D, there is depicted a high level logicalflowchart of an exemplary method by which a portable fitness device 12presents comparative performance information in substantially real timein accordance with the present invention. The process begins at block650 in response to an athlete 14 initiating a monitored activity, forexample, by selecting a route or planned workout from the internalmemory device 62 of portable training device 12 and entering a “Start”command utilizing one of input buttons 80 of portable fitness device 12.The process then trifurcates and proceeds in parallel to each of block652, 660 and 680.

Block 652 depicts data formatter 170 receiving and formatting input dataregarding the athlete's activity from readers 160-166 as describedabove. After optional compression by data compressor 172, the input datareceived and formatted by data formatter 170 are recorded by route andperformance recorder 176 within internal memory device 62 (or audiostorage 66 or a removal memory loaded in removable memory slot 64), asdepicted at block 654. The formatting and recording steps shown atblocks 652 and 654 are performed for the duration of the fitnessactivity.

Referring now to blocks 660-674, the operations of training inputmanager 186 described above may be extended to present notifications andalerts to the athlete 14 in substantially real time during the activity.As shown at block 660, training input manager 186 determines from theactivity-related data recorded by route and performance recorder 176whether or an update interval (e.g., an interval time and/or intervaldistance) has elapsed. The time and/or distance update interval(s) arepreferably determined by the settings established by settings manager184. If a time or distance update interval has not elapsed, the processiterates at block 660 until a time or distance update interval haselapsed. The process then proceeds to block 662, which illustratestraining input manager 186 determining whether notifications arecurrently enabled by reference to the settings established by settingsmanager 184. These notifications provide feedback to athlete 14 of hisperformance (e.g., distance traveled, pace, split time, heart rate,etc.) in substantially real time without reference to performance goals.

If notifications are not currently enabled, the process passes to block666, which is described below. If, however, notifications are currentlyenabled, training input manager 186 computes one or more notificationsto be presented to athlete 14 (e.g., distance traveled, pace, splittime, heart rate, etc.). Next, training input manager 186 determines atblock 666 whether or not the current activity is a planned workoutwithin a training plan downloaded to portable training device 12. Thisdetermination can be made based upon user selection of a planned workoutat block 650 or by dynamic matching of the route data recorded by routeand performance recorder 176 and route information associated with aworkout route downloaded to portable fitness device 12. If the currentactivity is not a planned workout, the process passes to block 674,which is described below. If the current activity is a planned workout,the process proceeds to block 668.

Block 668 depicts training input manager 186 comparing at least onemetric of the athlete's current performance to a correspondingperformance goal provided to portable fitness device 12 as part of theplanned workout. Training input manager 186 next determines at block 670whether or not any alerts should be presented to athlete 14 based uponthe performance comparison performed at block 186. These alerts mayinclude, for example, the following: [0120] Speed/pace too slow or toofast [0121] Total distance reached [0122] Heart rate too slow or toofast [0123] Distance or elevation gain milestone reached [0124] Splittime too fast or too slow. The alerts determined at block 670, if any,are then recorded in association with the reader data in internal memorydevice 62 at block 672 so that the guidance provided to athlete 14 maybe subsequently reviewed. Following a negative determination at block670 or following block 672, training input manager 186 presents aperformance update to athlete 14 in audible format that includes atleast one notification or alert. That is, training input manager 186locates an audio track within audio storage 66 or internal memory device62 corresponding to a notification (e.g., “Pace is 8:30”) or an alert(e.g., “Pace under target by 10 seconds”) and presents the audio trackto audio presentation module 192 for subsequent audible presentation toathlete 14. Of course, such updates may additionally be presentedvisually to athlete 14 by visual presentation module 190. Thereafter,the process returns to block 660, which has been described.

Referring now to blocks 680-682, the operation of upload manager 174 isillustrated. As described above, upload manager 174 and route andperformance recorder 176 determine at block 680 whether or not to uploadactivity-related data based upon one or more criteria, for example,whether WAN transceiver 104 can acquire a connection to the wirelessWAN, the available storage within internal memory device 62, anindication of whether or not a remote user is tracking the training ofathlete 14 in real-time, and/or other criteria. If, based upon theseand/or other criteria, upload manager 174 decides not to uploadactivity-related data, the process returns to block 680. If, however,upload manager 174 decides to upload the formatted and compressedactivity-related data, upload manager 174 outputs the activity-relateddata, including any alerts, via WAN transceiver 104 and antenna 106 toclient computer system 44 and/or server computer system 42 utilizingradio frequency signals 36. Thereafter, the process returns to block680.

With reference now to FIG. 7A, there is illustrated a Cartesian graphillustrating the over-reporting of distance traveled by “raw” orunprocessed GPS waypoints when GPS receiver 100 is traveling at lowvelocity (e.g., less than 30 miles per hour and, more particularly, lessthan 15 miles per hour). As GPS receiver 100 is transported by athlete14, GPS receiver 100 receives GPS signals 22 from GPS satellites 20,where each GPS signal 22 contains a timestamp. From these GPS signals22, GPS reader 160 computes time-stamped waypoints A through O, whichare plotted on an arbitrary Cartesian graph. As indicated by the varyingspacing between the time-stamped waypoints and the irregular path ofroute 700, time-stamped waypoints are subject to at least two types oferror, namely, timing error and positional error.

As can be seen, positional readings are based on a timestamp that may ormay nor reflect the actual elapsed time between GPS readings. Thistiming error may be induced by a low performance processor driving GPSreceiver 100 that does not have sufficient cycles to dedicate to GPSprocessing. Alternatively or additionally, timing error may be insertedby the use of assisted GPS (A-GPS), which requires round tripcommunication over the wireless WAN to validate a GPS reading, or bylocal filtering performed by GPS receiver 100 and/or GPS reader 160.

Additional positional error may also be caused by the inherentpositional error of commercial (as opposed to military) GPS signals,which is typically between 3-5 meters. Consequently, when the samplingrate of the GPS signal causes more than one sample to be taken duringtime interval required to traverse the positional error distance, azigzag route will be reported even if a relatively straight path isfollowed. As indicated by “flattened” GPS reading 702, the cumulativedistance between adjacent pairs of time-stamped waypoints A through O isthus greater than the true distance traversed 704 by a delta distance706. This distance error will also negatively impact any average orinstantaneous velocity computations that depend on a correct reportingof distance traversed.

Referring now to FIG. 7B, there is depicted a high level logicalflowchart of fin exemplary method of GPS filtering in accordance withthe present invention. The illustrated method can be performed inhardware (e.g., by GPS receiver 100) and/or in software (e.g., by GPSreader 160).

The process begins at block 710 and then proceeds to blocks 712-714,which illustrates receiving and queuing in a pipeline a new GPS readingincluding at least a time stamp and a latitude/longitude duple, andoptionally, a positional accuracy/uncertainty. After some time interval,a subsequent GPS reading is received and queued, as shown at block 714.Although the present invention is not limited to such embodiments, itwill hereafter be assumed that the pipeline holds a maximum of 3 GPSreadings, identified in order of receipt as A, B and C. Next, at block720, a determination is made whether or not the length of the routesegment between the two GPS readings most recently entered into thequeue (i.e., B and C) is less than a first threshold, which in oneembodiment is based upon (e.g., equal to) the (possibly variable)positional accuracy associated with the readings. If so, the processpasses to block 722, which illustrates discarding the most recent GPSreading (C) from the pipeline. Thereafter, the process returns to block714, which has been described.

Returning to block 720, in response to a determination that the distancetraversed between the two most recent GPS readings (B and C) is not lessthan the threshold, the process bifurcates and proceeds to each ofblocks 714 and 724. Block 724 illustrates calculating the velocity ofGPS receiver 100 over the route segments AB, BC and AC based upon thelength of the route segments and the time intervals between the GPSreadings. Next, the process passes to block 726, which depictsdetermining whether or not a GPS reading in the pipeline is errant andshould therefore be discarded.

In one embodiment, the middle GPS reading (B) is determined to be errantif: (velocity AB)/velocity AC)>Threshold2, or (velocity BC)/(velocityAC)>Threshold2, where “velocity XY” refers to a velocity over routesegment between points X and Y and “Threshold2” is a second threshold.In one embodiment, a second threshold ranging between 2 and 5, andpreferably, about 3 is employed.

In response to a determination at block 726 that a GPS reading in thepipeline is errant, the errant GPS reading is discarded from thepipeline, as shown at block 722. Thereafter, the process returns toblock 714. If, on the other hand, a determination is made at block 726that a GPS reading in the pipeline is not errant, the process proceedsto block 730. Block 730 depicts the application of a smoothing algorithmto the GPS readings in the pipeline. In one embodiment, a curve fittingformula, such as least-squares curve fitting, is employed. A lesscomputationally intensive alternative that may be employed is an equallyweighted averaging algorithm such as: (latB′,lonB′)=((latA+latB+latC)/3, (lonA+lonB+lonC)/3) where latX, lonX is thelatitude, longitude duple for GPS reading X and (latB′, lonB′) is areplacement latitude, longitude duple for GPS reading B.

If an uncertainty or error “u” is available for each of GPS readings A,B and C (e.g., the uncertainties are supplied by GPS receiver 100 orderived based upon a heuristic that may account for the number of GPSsatellites 20 available), a weighted averaging algorithm with possiblydifferent weights for each GPS reading can alternatively be applied to“smooth” GPS reading B as follows: U=(1/uA)+(1/uB)+(1/uC) w1=(1/uA)/Uw2=(I/uB)/U w3=(1/uC)/U (latB′, lonB′)=(w1*latA+w2*latB+w2*latC,w1*lonA+w2*lonB+w3*lonC)

Yet another alternative is a partially weighted smoothing algorithm thatapplies a percentage of emphasis given to the uncertainties “u”:P=percentage emphasis of uncertainties; U=(1/uA)+(1/uB)+(1/uC)w1=[(1/uA)/U]*P+(1−P)/3 w2=[(1/uB)/U]*P+(1−P)/3 w3=[(1/uC)/U]*P+(1−P)/3(latB′, lonB′)=(w1*latA+w2*latB+w2*latC, w1*lonA+w2*lonB+w3*lonC)Experimentally, a value of P=0.5 has been found to be effective insmoothing GPS readings.

Following block 730, the oldest GPS reading (C) is output from thepipeline at block 732 and recorded as route data. A determination isthen made at block 734 whether or not more “raw” GPS readings will bereceived for the current route (e.g., whether a “Stop” input has beenreceived in response to manipulation of an input button 80). If not, theprocess returns to block 714, which has been described. If, however, nomore “raw” GPS readings will be received for the current route, theprocess passes to block 736, which illustrates outputting and recordingas route data any remaining GPS readings in the pipeline. Thereafter,the process ends at block 740.

The smoothed GPS data output from the pipeline is preferably what isrecorded by route and performance recorder 176 within internal memorydevice 62. The process depicted in FIG. 7B can alternatively beimplemented by software on a remote data processing system (e.g., servercomputer system 42 or client computer system 44) to correct the GPS databy post-processing or in real time. If the GPS data is corrected inreal-time by the remote data processing system (e.g., server computersystem 42), the corrected GPS data can be transmitted back to the sourceportable fitness device 12 or other GPS-enabled device for presentationor analysis.

With reference now to FIG. 8, there is depicted a high level logicalflowchart of an exemplary method of automatically presenting comparativesplit information to an athlete in substantially real-time in accordancewith the present invention. The process can be implemented, for example,as an extension to training input manager 186 of FIG. 2B.

The process begins at block 800 in response to an athlete 14 initiatinga monitored activity, for example, by entering a “Start” commandutilizing one of input buttons 80 of portable fitness device 12. Theprocess then proceeds to block 802, which illustrates a determination ofwhether or not athlete 14 is traversing a route previously traversed byathlete 14. In a preferred embodiment, the determination depicted atblock 802 can be made in response to user input (e.g., the userselecting a route or planned workout from the internal memory device 62of portable training device 12) or can be made dynamically by routematching.

In response to a determination at block 802 that the route beingtraversed is known to be a route that was previously traversed (e.g.,because of user input), the process proceeds to block 830, whichillustrates training input manager 186 requesting and receiving adownload from server computer system 42 of split information for thecurrent route stored within the athlete's personal training journalwithin training journal database 54. The split information, whichpreferably provides a split for each equal sized route segment (e.g.,quarter mile, half kilometer, etc.), may indicate a most recent, averageand/or personal record split time for the athlete 14. Based upon thesplit information, training input manager 186 generates and presents aperformance update to athlete 14 in audible format, as described abovewith respect to block 674 of FIG. 6D (block 832). That is, traininginput manager 186 locates an audio track within audio storage 66 orinternal memory device 62 corresponding to the alert (e.g., “Mile 1under PR by 6 seconds”) and presents the audio track to audiopresentation module 192 for subsequent audible presentation to athlete14. Of course, such alerts may additionally be presented to athlete 14by visual presentation module 190.

The process next passes to block 834, which depicts training inputmanager 186 determining whether or not the route has been completed, forexample, by determining whether athlete 14 has indicated “Stop”utilizing one of input buttons 80 and/or by determining whether a knownterminal waypoint of the route has been reached. If training inputmanager 186 determines at block 834 that athlete 14 has completed theroute, training input manager 186 optionally uploads the splitinformation for each segment of the route to the athlete's personaltraining journal within training journal database 54 on server computersystem 42. (Data recorder module 226 of server computer system 42 couldrecompute the split information to reduce data transmission over thewireless WAN.) Thereafter, the process ends at block 840.

Referring again to block 802, in response to training input manager 186determining that athlete 14 is traversing an unknown route, the processproceeds to block 804. Block 804 illustrates training input manager 186uploading the GPS reading at a first or next split distance (e.g., 0miles, ¼ mile, etc.) to a route matching module 248 running on servercomputer system 42. In response to receipt of the GPS reading, routematching module 248 compares the location specified by the GPS readingwith previously traversed routes recorded within the athlete's personaltraining journal within training journal database 54 on server computersystem 42 (block 806). If no location match with a previously traversedroute is found within a given range (e.g., .+−.10 meters), the processpasses to block 810, which illustrates route matching module 248determining whether or not a possible match still may exist (e.g.,whether a previously traversed route is found within 2000 meters of theGPS reading received from portable fitness device 12).

If route matching module 248 determines at block 810 that a match maystill be possible, the process returns to block 804, with route matchingmodule 248 optionally signaling training input manager 186 that no matchhas been found but that a match is still possible. If, on the otherhand, route matching module 248 determines that no match is possible(e.g., no previously traversed route was found within 2000 meters of theGPS reading received from portable fitness device 12), the process endsat block 840, with route matching module 248 optionally signalingtraining input manager 186 that no match has been found or is stillpossible.

Returning to block 808, in response to route matching module 248determining that a matching previously traversed route resides in theathlete's personal training journal, route matching module 248 downloadssplit information for the route to training input manager 186, asillustrated at block 820. Training input manager 186 then utilizes thedownloaded split information to generate and presents a performanceupdate to athlete 14 in audible and/or visual format in substantiallyreal time, as described above with respect to block 832 of FIG. 6D(block 822). Training input manager 186 thereafter monitors the GPS datarecorded by route and performance recorder 176 as shown at block 824 todetermine whether athlete 14 remains on the matched route downloadedfrom server computer system 42. If training input manager 186 determinesthat athlete 14 is remaining on the matched route downloaded from servercomputer system 42, training input manager 186 continues to presentcomparative split information, as depicted at block 822.

If, however, training input manager 186 determines that athlete 14 hasleft the matched route, training input manager 186 further determines atblock 826 whether athlete 14 has finished the route, for example, bydetermining whether athlete 14 has indicated “Stop” utilizing one ofinput buttons 80 and/or by determining whether a known terminal waypointof the matched route has been reached. If training input manager 186determines at block 826 that athlete 14 has not finished the matchedroute, training input manager 186 attempts to match a new route, asindicated by the process returning to block 804. If, however, traininginput manager 186 determines at block 826 that athlete 14 has finishedthe matched route, the process passes to blocks 836 and 840, which havebeen described.

Referring now to FIG. 9, there is depicted a block diagram of anexemplary playlist management architecture in accordance with thepresent invention. For clarity, FIG. 9 illustrates only those portionsof server computer system 42 and portable fitness device 12 helpful ingaining an understanding of the invention. As depicted, the playlistarchitecture includes a server playlist management component 900, atrack library 902 containing songs and/or other audio tracks, and atrack preferences database 904 residing at or accessible to servercomputer system 42. The playlist architecture optionally includes anauxiliary track library 906 containing additional songs and/or othertracks that maybe accessed to augment the contents of track library 902.Auxiliary track library 906 may reside on a client computer system 44 orat a commercial music distribution service licensed to distributetracks. In order to comply with copyright laws, access to each track intrack library 902 may be restricted by server playlist managementcomponent 900 to only those users having a license to the track (e.g.,as evidenced the user uploading the track directly from auxiliary tracklibrary 906 through selection of a hyperlink provided in a web pageserved by server playlist management component 900 and HTTP server 214).

Server playlist management component 900 is coupled for communication bya communication network 910 (e.g., Internet 40 and the wireless WAN) toa client playlist management component 920 residing on portable fitnessdevice 12. Client playlist management component 920 receives a set ofsubstantially real-time inputs 922, which may be provided, for example,by external sources (e.g., server computer system 42 or other webservers) coupled to communication network 910 and/or by readers 160-166.Inputs 922 may include, for example, weather conditions, athleticperformance (e.g., pace, heart rate, distance, etc.), surface type(e.g., paved or unpaved), adjacent scenery, and/or grade (e.g., uphill,flat or downhill). Client playlist management component 920 is furthercoupled to audio storage 66.

As described in greater detail below, the playlist architecture enablesthe creation of custom and/or dynamic playlists that will enhance auser's activity (e.g., workout). For example, tracks may be playedduring the activity to motivate, relax or reward an athlete or establisha desired pace for selected segments of a route.

With reference now to FIG. 10A, there is depicted an exemplary method ofpre-processing an audio track to determine a corresponding activity pacein accordance with the present invention. As depicted, the processbegins at block 1000 in response to designation of an audio track to beprocessed, for example, by a user invoking the uploading of a track totrack library 902. The process then proceeds to block 1002, whichdepicts server playlist management component 900 applying an audiofilter 901 to the track to determine a tempo for the track, for example,in beats per minute. Server playlist management component 900 thendetermines at block 1004 a corresponding pace for at least one athleticactivity (e.g., running, hiking, cycling, etc.) based upon the tracktempo and an estimated distance traversed per repeated motion (e.g.,stride, pedal revolution, etc.) matching the tempo. Server playlistmanagement component 900 next stores the audio track (or at least anidentifier thereof) in track library 902 in association with one or moreassociated paces. Thereafter, the process ends at block 1008.

Referring now to FIG. 10B, there is depicted a high level logicalflowchart of an exemplary method of constructing a user playlist inaccordance with the present invention. The process begins at block 1010,for example, in response to a user logged into server computer system 42and viewing a route in his training journal via a GUI presented bytraining journal interface 232 invoking a playlist wizard 903 withinserver playlist management component 900. The process then proceeds toblock 1012, which depicts the playlist wizard 903 of server playlistmanagement component 900 calling training journal interface 232 topresent a GUI containing a selected view (e.g., an elevation view) ofthe route. The visual presentation of the route is preferably demarkedinto a plurality of route segments based upon, for example, substantialchanges in route grade, predetermined distances, landmarks adjacent theroute, user input, etc. The user may be permitted to change the locationon the route of the demarcation between segments, for example, bymanipulating the location of a line representing a segment interfaceutilizing a graphical pointer.

Next, at block 1014, playlist wizard 903 obtains a pace for each of theroute segments comprising the route. For example, playlist wizard 903may utilize a user-entered pace or a user's historical average pace (forthe specific route or overall) as the base pace for the route and, fromthe base pace, calculate a pace for each route segment based upon theaverage grade of each route segment. Alternatively, playlist wizard 903may use one or more paces associated with the route by a workout in atraining plan. The pace for each route segment may desirably begraphically indicated on the elevation view of the route with arespective attribute (e.g., color or pattern) and/or numeric label(e.g., presented in a flyover popup label presented when a graphicalpointer is positioned over a route segment).

As depicted at blocks 1016-1018, playlist wizard 903 permits the user tobuild a playlist for the route by associating one or more tracks fromtrack library 902 and/or auxiliary track library 906, for example, bydragging one or more tracks presented within a picklist to specificlocations on the graphical presentation of the route. In addition,playlist wizard 903 may automatically (e.g., in response to userselection of an “Autofill” button with a graphical pointer) associateone or more tracks to portions of route segments not currently havingassociated tracks by matching (within a range) the pace of each trackfrom track library 902 as determined at block 1004 with the pace of aroute segment as obtained at block 1014. This automatic playlistconstruction may further be informed by user preferences, which may beentered as described below with reference to FIG. 10D.

The process proceeds from block 1018 to block 1020, which illustratesstoring the playlist within the user's personal journal in trainingjournal database 54 such that the beginning of each track is associatedwith a particular location on the route. As indicated at block 1030, theplaylist is optionally published to the community along with the route,for example, in response to a user selecting “Publish” button 496 ofFIG. 5B.

As depicted at blocks 1032 and 1034, when the route is subsequentlydownloaded to a portable fitness device 12, for example, in response toa input invoking the download or in response to download manager 246automatically pushing the route to the portable fitness device 12, theplaylist is downloaded in association with the route. In this manner,the tracks within the playlist may be played at appropriate points alongthe route, as described below with reference to FIG. 10C.

With reference now to FIG. 10C, there is illustrated a high levellogical flowchart of a location-based method of presenting audio tracksas a route is traversed in accordance with the present invention. Theillustrated process may be performed, for example, by audio presentationmodule 192 of portable fitness device client 154.

As illustrated, the process begins at block 1040 and then proceeds toblock 1042, which depicts audio presentation module 192 receiving a newGPS reading from GPS reader 160 or route and performance recorder 176.At blocks 1044 and 1046, audio presentation module 192 then determinesby reference to route information within internal memory device 62whether the current GPS reading is within a predetermined range of apoint on the route and, if so, whether a track within a playlist isassociated with the point on the route. If either of the determinationsdepicted at blocks 1044 and 1046 is negative, the process returns toblock 1042, which has been described. If, on the other hand, both of thedeterminations at blocks 1044 and 1046 are affirmative, audiopresentation module 192 further determines at block 1048 whether or notit is already playing the track associated with the matching point onthe route. If so, the process returns to block 1042, which has beendescribed. If, on the other hand, the track is not already being played,audio presentation module 192 plays the track, as illustrated at block1050.

As depicted at block 1052, if the route is complete, as indicated, forexample, by a user input received by the portable fitness device 12 viainput buttons 80, the process ends at block 1054. If the route is notcomplete, the process returns to block 1042, which has been described.

Referring now to FIG. 10D, there is depicted a block diagram of anexemplary graphical user interface (GUI) 1060 through which user audiopreferences may be entered in accordance with the present invention. GUI1060 may be presented within a browser interface on client computer 44by user preferences package 905 of server playlist management component900, for example, in response to a user establishing an account withserver computer system 42 or in response to a user logging into servercomputer system 42 and entering an indication of a desire to enterplaylist preferences.

As shown, GUI 1060 includes a track library window in which a list oftracks is presented. Entries in the track list may include informationsuch as a track name, track length, genre and corresponding pace (e.g.,determined as depicted in FIG. 10A). Of course, entries in the tracklist may include additional information, such as an artist and/or albumname, track price, etc. In response to a user input associated with atrack in the track list, for example, a user right-clicking on an entrywith graphical pointer 1066 and then making a selection of a “PlaylistPreferences” entry from a drop down list, user preferences package 905causes a playlist preferences window 1064 to be presented within GUI1060.

Playlist preferences window 1064 presents a number of GUI componentsthat gather information regarding when the user would want to hear aparticular track. In the depicted embodiment, playlist preferenceswindow 1064 includes radio buttons 1068 that the user can select withgraphical pointer 1066 to indicate what grade (e.g., uphill, flat, ordownhill), activity phase (e.g., warm-up or cool down), tempo influence(e.g., slow down, maintain, or accelerate), or weather (e.g., hot, cold,wet, or windy) the user wants to associate with the selected track. Inaddition, playlist preference window 1064 includes a text box 1070 andassociated “Browse” button 1072 that a user may employ to enter a nameof a scenic location or type of scenery with which the user desires toassociated the selected track.

In addition to track specific preferences, user preferences package 905preferably further collects the user's general track preferences, suchas preferred genres of music, preferred activity phases for whichpresentation of tracks is enabled or disabled, etc., via one or moreunillustrated graphical user interfaces. Using one or more of thetrack-specific and/or general preferences, the playlist architecture ofthe present invention can dynamically create and present a playlist to auser in association with an activity.

With reference now to FIG. 10E, there is illustrated a high levellogical flowchart of an exemplary method of dynamic playlist managementin accordance with the present invention. The depicted process can beperformed remotely by client playlist management component 920 ofportable fitness device 12, by server playlist management component 900on server computer system 42 utilizing communication with portablefitness device 12 over communication network 910, or a combination ofthe two. The depicted method of dynamic playlist management can beperformed in response to a user input or automatically as a default modeof operation in the absence of user designation of a particular playlistor user designation of a route with an associated user-constructedplaylist.

As illustrated, the process begins at block 1074 and then proceeds toblock 1075, which illustrates playlist management component 900 or 920receiving a set of substantially real-time inputs 922 from externalsources (e.g., server computer system 42 or other web servers) coupledto communication network 910 and/or by readers 160-166 within portablefitness device 12. As described above, the set of inputs 922 caninclude, for example, weather conditions, athletic performance (e.g.,pace, heart rate, distance, etc.), surface type (e.g., paved orunpaved), adjacent scenery, and/or route grade (e.g., uphill, flat ordownhill). In response to receipt of inputs 922, playlist managementcomponent 900 or 920 determines at blocks 1076, 1082, 1083, and 1084whether inputs 922 indicate a particular activity phase (e.g., warm-upor cool down), a particular grade (e.g., uphill or downhill), proximityto a particular scenic input, or an environmental (e.g., weather)condition. If not, the process proceeds through page connector A toblock 1085, which is described below. If, on the other hand, inputs 922indicate a particular activity phase, a particular grade, or aparticular environmental or scenic input, the process proceeds to blocks1077-1078.

Blocks 1077-1078 depict playlist management component 900 or 920determining whether the detected input has an associated track basedupon the athlete's playlist preferences (e.g., playlist preferencesentered utilizing GUI 1060 of FIG. 10D) and, if so, whether the generalpreferences have enabled or disabled playing the track for theparticular input. If an associated track is identified and its playingis enabled, the process passes to block 1079, which illustrates adetermination of whether or not the associated track is already playing.If so, the process returns to block 1075, which has been described. Ifnot, the process proceeds to block 1080, which illustrates adetermination regarding whether or not the track has recently beenplayed, for example, in a user-selectable or predetermined non-repeatinginterval (e.g., 5 minutes). If so, the process returns to block 1077,representing a determination of whether or not an alternative track isassociated with the triggering input. If a determination is made atblock 1080 that the associated track determined at block 1077 has notrecently been played, the process passes to block 1081.

Block 1081 illustrates playlist management component 900 or 920accessing or causing the associated track to accessed, for example, fromaudio storage 66, track library 902 or auxiliary track library 906.Presentation of the associated track by audio presentation module 192 isthen invoked, as depicted at block 1089. Thereafter, the process returnsto block 1075, which has been described.

Returning to block 1085, a determination is made by reference to thepace and/or location or other inputs received at block 1075 whether theactivity has been completed. If so, the process depicted in FIG. 10Eends at block 1087. If, however, a determination is made at block 1085that the activity has not been completed, the process proceeds to block1088, which depicts playlist management component 900 or 920 selecting atrack from audio storage 66 or track library 902 corresponding to thecurrent pace of athlete 14. Playlist management component 900 or 920then invokes presentation of the selected track, as shown at block 1089.Thereafter, the process returns to block 1075, which has been described.

It will be appreciated by those skilled in the art that although themethods of FIG. 10A-10E have been described with particular reference touse by an athlete 14, it will be appreciated that the playlistmanagement methodologies disclosed herein may be applied more generallyto provide audio presentation services based upon a user's environmentand/or location. Thus, for example, the services may be advantageouslyutilized by tourists, persons commuting in cars, buses, trains, etc.

Referring now to FIG. 1A, there is depicted a high level logicalflowchart of an exemplary method of publishing a challenge route to auser community in accordance with the present invention. As shown, theprocess begins at block 1100, for example, with a user such as anathlete 14 logging into server computer system 42 from a client computer44 and invoking the display by training journal interface 232 of aparticular route in his personal training journal within trainingjournal database 54 that has been traversed by the athlete 14. Oneexemplary GUI for viewing a traversed route is described above in detailwith reference to FIGS. 5A-5B.

The process then proceeds from block 1100 to block 1102, which depictsthe user designating the particular route as a “challenge” route, forexample, through interaction with a GUI displayed as a result of theselection of “Publish” button 496 of FIG. 5B utilizing graphical pointer262. In response to designation of the particular route as a challengeroute, route generation and publication module 220 computes a pointvalue for the challenge route, for example, based upon the totaldistance and cumulative elevation gain of the uphill portions of theroute (block 1104). Route generation and publication module 220 thenpublishes the route in route database 52 for selection and download tothe portable fitness devices 12 of other members of the servicecommunity. Thereafter, the process ends at block 1108.

With reference now to FIG. 11B, there is illustrated a high levellogical flowchart of an exemplary method of staging the device-assistedtraversal of a challenge route in accordance with the present invention.As depicted, the process begins at block 1110 and then proceeds to block1112, which illustrates training input manager 186 of portable fitnessdevice 12 determining if a user, such as athlete 14, has entered aninput (e.g., using input buttons 80) signifying the selection of achallenge route previously downloaded to internal memory device 62 ofportable fitness device 12. (The meta-data associated with the route ininternal memory device 62 preferably indicates whether a downloadedroute is a challenge route.) If not, other processing is performed, asdepicted at block 1113.

In response to a determination by training input manager 186 that achallenge route has been selected for traversal, training input manager186 further determines at block 1114 whether directions to the startingpoint should be presented. For example, training input manager 186 maydetermine if athlete 14 has entered an addition input requesting suchdirections or has simply not canceled the presentation of suchdirections. If a determination is made at block 1114 that no directionsare needed or desired, the process proceeds to block 1118, which isdescribed below. If, however, a determination is made at block 1114 thatdirections to the starting point of the route are needed or desired,training input manager 186 calls audio presentation module 192 and/orvisual presentation manager 190 at block 1116 to present turn-by-turnaudible direction and/or a map to guide athlete 14 to the starting pointof the challenge route. This functionality is particularly helpful ifthe challenge route is off-road.

The process proceeds from block 1116 to block 1118, which illustratestraining input manager 186 determining by reference to the GPS readingsprovided by GPS reader 160 whether or not athlete 14 has transportedportable fitness device 12 to the starting point of the challenge route(e.g., within a positional error range (5 meters) of the startinglocation). If not, the process returns to block 1114, which has beendescribed. If, however, training input manager 186 determines at block1118 that athlete 14 has transported portable fitness device 12 to thestarting point of the challenge route, the process passes to block 1120.

Block 1120 depicts training input manager 186 calling audio presentationmodule 192 to present an audible start message to the user from audiostorage 66. For example, the start message may state, “Forward motionwill start timing the challenge route.” Following presentation of thestart message, training input manager 186 monitors GPS readings providedby GPS reader 160 at block 1122 for forward motion of portable fitnessdevice 12 along the challenge route. When forward motion is detected,the process proceeds to block 1124, which depicts training input manager186 calling audio presentation module 192 and/or visual presentationmanager 190 to present real-time turn-by-turn audible direction and/or amap to guide athlete 14 along challenge route in response to GPSreadings provided by GPS reader 160. Training input manager 186 may alsopresent comparative performance or split information as the challengeroute is traversed, for example, indicating comparative overallperformance or splits with respect to a previous best time fortraversing the challenge route (e.g., “You are 10 seconds off of besttime”). Presentation of directional assistance continues until traininginput manager 186 determines an end point of the challenge route.Thereafter, the process ends at block 1128.

Referring now to FIG. 11C, there is depicted a high level logicalflowchart of an exemplary method of presenting the results of atraversal of a challenge route in accordance with the present invention.The process begins at block 1130 and the proceeds to block 1131, whichillustrates data recorder module 226 running on server computer system42 receiving data recorded for a route traversed by a portable fitnessdevice 12 from upload manager 174 running on the portable fitness device12 and recording the data in an athlete's personal training journalwithin training journal database 54. Upload manager 174 preferablytransmits the data in conjunction with a parameter indicating whether ornot the route for the data were collected is a challenge route,permitting data recorder module 226 to determine whether the data is fora challenge route, as shown at block 1132. If the data is not for achallenge route, the process ends at block 1140. If, however, datarecorder module 226 determines at block 1132 that the data is for achallenge route, the process proceeds to blocks 1136-1138.

Block 1136 depicts data recorder module 226 computing feedback regardingthe traversal of the challenge route. For example, based upon the routedata and other results for the same route contained in training journaldatabase 54, data recorder module 226 may compute an absolute ranking ofthe total time for the route traversal (e.g., an overall andage-bracketed ranking) and a normalized ranking for the route traversal.The normalized ranking may compensate for factors such as wind speed anddirection, athlete age, how long the athlete has been training, and/ortemperature to correctly “handicap” diverse environment conditions andathletic abilities. As shown at block 1138, data recorder module 226then downloads to portable fitness device 12 feedback informationregarding the traversal of the challenge route. For example, datarecorder module 226 may transmit the absolute and normalized rankings,as well as points earned by the athlete 14 for the traversal of thechallenge route and a cumulative point total for all challenge routestraversed by the athlete 14. The feedback data transmitted by datarecorder module 226 to portable fitness device 12 are received bytraining input manager 186 and then presented by visual presentationmodule 190 and/or audio presentation module 192. The process depicted inFIG. 11C then terminates at block 1140.

With reference now to FIG. 12A, there is illustrated a high level blockdiagram of a system architecture that provides nutritional guidance to auser in accordance with the present invention. For clarity, FIG. 12Aillustrates only those portions of server computer system 42 andportable fitness device 12 helpful in gaining an understanding of theinvention.

As depicted, the nutritional guidance architecture includes a servercomputer system 42 and a portable fitness device 12. Server computersystem 42 includes a server nutritional assistant 1200 and a meal plandatabase 1202 containing personal meal plans for subscribers. Thepersonal meal plans may specify, for example, a caloric intake goaland/or other nutritional information (e.g., grams of fats, carbohydratesand sugars, food categories, food “point” value, etc.) on a per-meal ordaily basis. Residing at or accessible to server computer system 42 is arestaurant database 904, which contains information regarding geographiclocations of restaurants, hours of operation, and menu items availableat the restaurants. With respect to menu items, restaurant database 904preferably indicates an estimated calorie amount and optionallyadditional nutritional information (e.g., grams of fats, sugars, andtotal carbohydrates). The nutritional guidance architecture optionallyfurther includes an auxiliary restaurant database 1206 (which may resideon a web server or represent a web portal such as Yahoo!) containingduplicate or additional information that maybe accessed to locaterestaurants, obtain information (e.g., calories or nutritionalinformation) regarding menu items, and/or populate restaurant database1204.

Server nutritional assistant 1200 is coupled for communication by acommunication network 1210 (e.g., Internet 40 and the wireless WAN) to aclient nutritional assistant 1220 residing on portable fitness device12. Client nutritional assistant 1220 receives inputs from servernutritional assistant 1200 and presents the inputs via calls to visualpresentation module 190 and/or audio presentation module 192.

As described in greater detail below, the nutritional guidancearchitecture enables a user (e.g., athlete 14) of portable fitnessdevice 12 to determine menu items conforming to a meal plan that are inproximity to the user's geographic location. The menu items may beselected for presentation to the user based upon the caloric expenditureassociated with activities recorded in the user's personal trainingjournal within training journal database 54.

Referring now to FIG. 12B, there is depicted a high level logicalflowchart of an exemplary method by which a client device, such asportable fitness device 12, queries a service for nutritional guidancein accordance with the present invention. The process begins at block1230 and thereafter proceeds to block 1232, which depicts clientnutritional assistant 1220 monitoring the user inputs (e.g.,manipulations of inputs buttons 80) of portable fitness device 12 for aninput signifying a dining decision query. In response to detection of auser input signifying a dining decision query, the process next passesto block 1234, which illustrates client nutritional assistant 1220sending a dining decision query to server, such as nutritional assistant1200 running on server computer system 42, via communication network1210. The dining decision query contains the geographic location ofportable fitness device 12 (e.g., as indicated by a recent GPS readingobtained from GPS reader 160) may optionally further contain or beinterpreted as containing a parameter indicating one or more proximities(e.g., 1 mile, 3 miles, 5 miles) to the current geographic location.

As shown at block 1236, client nutritional assistant 1220 then iteratesuntil a response to the dining decision query is received from servernutritional assistant 1200 via communication network 1210, for example,in the form of an XML document. In response to receipt of the response,client nutritional assistant 1220 presents the response to the user atblock 1238 by making appropriate calls to visual presentation module 190and/or audio presentation module 192. In one embodiment, the XMLresponse document includes a picklist containing one or more entriesthat each identifies a restaurant name, a distance (e.g., in miles orkilometers) to the restaurant from the current geographic location ofportable fitness device 12, and a number of menu choices available atthat restaurant that comply with the user's meal plan. User selection ofan entry of the picklist may invoke further display of a map to therestaurant from the current geographic location of portable fitnessdevice 12 and/or images of the available menu items.

Client nutritional assistant 1220 then determines at block 1240 if auser input has been received (e.g., via input buttons 80) indicatingthat the user desires to receive additional results from more distantrestaurants. If not, the process ends at block 1242. If so, clientnutritional assistant 1220 increases the proximity parameter at block1244 and issues another dining decision query with the increasedproximity parameter, as shown at block 1234. Thereafter, the processcontinues as has been described.

With reference now to FIG. 12C, there is illustrated a high levellogical flowchart of an exemplary method by which a server deviceresponds to a query for nutritional guidance in accordance with thepresent invention. The depicted process begins at block 1250 andthereafter proceeds to block 1252, which illustrates server nutritionalassistant 1200 waiting until a dining decision query is received from aclient device, such as portable fitness device 12 or client computersystem 44. In response to receipt of the dining decision query, servernutritional assistant 1200 accesses restaurant database 1204 and/orauxiliary restaurant database 1206 at block 1254 to identify one or morerestaurants within at least one zone of proximity to the client device(e.g., portable fitness device 12).

As shown at block 1256, for at least one restaurant, and preferably foreach restaurant identified at block 1254 that is within the proximityzone, server nutritional assistant 1200 then determines by reference torestaurant database 1204 and/or auxiliary restaurant database 1206 whichmenu items at the restaurant, if any, can be eaten by the user, giventhe time of day (i.e., an indication of whether the meal is a breakfast,lunch, dinner or snack) and the nutritional information (e.g., caloricintake goal, grams of fats, sugars and carbohydrates, food “point”values, etc.) specified in the user's meal plan stored within meal plandatabase 1202. Server nutritional assistant 1200 may further take intoconsideration caloric expenditure estimated from recent activity (e.g.,same or previous day) recorded for the user within training journaldatabase 54. In this manner, caloric expenditure can be compensated foror “rewarded” by the inclusion of higher calorie menu item selections.Server nutritional assistant 1200 then downloads its response to thedining decision query to the client device (e.g., portable fitnessclient 12) via communication network 1210, as shown at block 1258.Thereafter, the process terminates at block 1260.

While the invention has been particularly shown as described withreference to a preferred embodiment, it will be understood by thoseskilled in the art that various changes in form and detail may be madetherein without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention.For example, while the present invention has been described with respectto an exemplary software configuration in which software performingcertain functions of the present invention resides on a server computersystem of a service provider (e.g., of a subscription service), thoseskilled in the art will appreciate that, in alternative embodiments,such software may alternatively reside on a client computer system, suchas client computer system 44, and/or on portable fitness device 12.

Furthermore, while the present invention has been described withreference to tracking and visualizing the performance and/or route of anathlete, those skilled in the art will appreciate that the presentinvention may also be applied to tracking and visualizing the locationand movement of other persons, such as children or criminals underelectronic supervision, or objects.

Moreover, although aspects of the present invention have been describedwith respect to a data processing system executing program code thatdirects the functions of the present invention, it should be understoodthat present invention may alternatively be implemented as a programproduct for use with a data processing system. Program code defining thefunctions of the present invention can be delivered to a data processingsystem via a variety of signal-bearing media, which include, withoutlimitation, non-rewritable storage media (e.g., CD-ROM), rewritablestorage media (e.g., a floppy diskette or hard disk drive), andcommunication media, such as digital and analog networks. It should beunderstood, therefore, that such signal-bearing media, when carrying orencoding computer readable instructions that direct the functions of thepresent invention, represent alternative embodiments of the presentinvention.

What is claimed is:
 1. A method for presenting route traversalinformation, comprising: displaying a route map comprising a route pathrepresenting a route previously traversed by an athlete; receiving aplurality of parameter data points based on the athlete's previoustraversal of the route; generating a visual cue based on at least one ofthe plurality of parameter data points; and displaying the visual cue onthe route path.
 2. The method of claim 1, wherein the plurality ofparameter data points comprise athletic performance data.
 3. The methodof claim 2, wherein the athletic performance data comprises heart ratedata.
 4. The method of claim 2, wherein the athletic performance datacomprises pace data.
 5. The method of claim 1, wherein the plurality ofparameter data points comprise route parameter data.
 6. The method ofclaim 5, wherein the route parameter data comprises at least one ofdistance and elevation data.
 7. The method of claim 1, wherein theplurality of parameter data points comprise athletic performance dataand route parameter data.
 8. The method of claim 1, wherein theplurality of parameter data points comprise environmental parameterdata.
 9. The method of claim 1, wherein the visual cue comprises acolor.
 10. The method of claim 9, wherein a variation of the colorcorresponds to a variation in a value of the plurality of parameter datapoints.
 11. The method of claim 10, wherein the variation of the colorcomprises a darkening of the color, and wherein the variation in thevalue of the plurality of parameter data points comprises an increase inthe value of the plurality of parameter data points.
 12. The method ofclaim 1, wherein the route path further comprises a plurality of bands,and wherein each of the plurality of bands is based on at least one of aroute parameter, a performance parameter, and an environmentalparameter.
 13. The method of claim 12, wherein at least one of theplurality of bands comprises the visual cue, and wherein the visual cueindicates a relative change in a value of the plurality of parameterdata points on at least one of the plurality of bands.
 14. The method ofclaim 1, wherein the route path further comprises a plurality of routepath segments, and wherein generating the visual cue comprises each ofthe route path segments having a distinct visual cue.
 15. The method ofclaim 14, wherein each of the distinct visual cues is based on at leastone of a route grade, a predetermined distance, a user input, andathletic performance data.
 16. A method for presenting route traversalinformation, comprising: displaying a route map; receiving a pluralityof global positioning satellite waypoints based on an athlete's currenttraversal of a route; displaying a route path as an overlay on the routemap of the route currently being traversed by the athlete; receiving atleast one of route data, performance data, and environmental parameterdata based on the athlete's current traversal of the route; determiningone or more visual cues based on at least one of the route data, theperformance data, the environmental parameter data, and the plurality ofglobal positioning satellite waypoints; and displaying the one or morevisual cues on the route path.
 17. The method of claim 16, whereindisplaying the one or more visual cues occurs in substantially real-timeduring the current traversal.
 18. The method of claim 16, wherein aportion of the one or more visual cues corresponds to an instantaneousquantity of at least one of the route data, performance data, andenvironmental parameter data at a corresponding portion of the routepath.
 19. The method of claim 16, wherein a change in the one or morevisual cues corresponds to a change in an intensity level of theathlete.
 20. The method of claim 16, wherein a change in the shade ofthe one or more visual cues corresponds to a decrease in the athlete'sheart rate.
 21. The method of claim 16, wherein a change in the shade ofthe one or more visual cues corresponds to a relative increase in theroute data.
 22. The method of claim 16, further comprising updating theone or more visual cues based on at least one of the route data, theperformance data, the environmental parameter data, and the plurality ofglobal positioning satellite waypoints, after displaying the one or morevisual cues on the route path.
 23. The method of claim 16, wherein theone or more visual cues comprises a color gradient.